A court has once again issued non-bailable warrants against O.P. Rana, who is embroiled in a bribery case. The process to declare him a fugitive has not yet been initiated. A hearing regarding his bail plea is scheduled to take place in the High Court on Wednesday.
If he fails to obtain relief from the High Court as well, and does not join the investigation, the investigative agencies may initiate the process to declare him a ‘Proclaimed Offender.’ The entire matter came to light on May 8, when Amit Kumar, a resident of Abohar in Fazilka, lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Department. Amit currently serves as a State Tax Officer. The complaint alleged that contractor Raghav Goyal and his father, Vikas Goyal (alias Vicky Goyal), were acting as intermediaries, invoking the names of senior officials within the Vigilance Department.
According to the complainant, the two accused individuals claimed that a bribe would be required to settle a pending complaint filed against him at the Vigilance Headquarters. Amit Kumar alleged that the bribe amount was being demanded in the names of DGP (Vigilance) Sharad Satya Chauhan and his Reader, O.P. Rana.
Upon receiving the complaint, the CBI swung into action and initiated an investigation into the matter. The responsibility for investigating the case and verifying the complaint was entrusted to Inspector Arun Ahlawat of the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Chandigarh. During the course of the investigation, it emerged that the accused—Raghav Goyal and Vikas Goyal—had demanded a bribe of ₹13 lakh from the complainant.
The CBI investigation also revealed that, in addition to the cash sum, the accused had demanded a mobile phone for O.P. Rana. The CBI subsequently arrested the accused individuals while they were in possession of the ₹13 lakh. Now, all eyes in this case are fixed on the hearing scheduled to take place in the High Court on Wednesday. If O.P. Rana fails to secure relief from the court and does not cooperate with the investigation, legal proceedings to declare him a fugitive may be initiated against him.
